He was shown by a local SE Qld trainer
while I was in WA, but when I moved back
to Qld he came to live with us, where I broke
him in, and tried many different equestrian
activities on him. Eventually I moved back
to Jimboomba, where my new partner and
I opened Horse n Rider – a retail saddlery
located in Jimboomba. We joined the South-
side Western Performance Club and I met
Leanne Bartlett and commenced western
riding lessons at Bartlett Training Stables.
We were just starting to get the hang of this
western thing, when Sparky developed a
mystery illness and was put in the paddock
to recover. No horse again meant no show-
ing for me.
After several years in the paddock Sparky
looked like he was ready to return to work,
so we began with slow lunging. While things
were looking promising he took another
turn for the worse. Again we were faced
with a mystery illness - symptoms that
did not add up. A full body scan revealed
nothing. It was to be an illness he never
fully recovered from and he was PTS in May
2018.
In 2016 Leanne introduced me to Eleanor
Gill, who had a Quarter Horse mare for
lease – Lakota Pistolita. We showed at as
many local shows as we could, and Leanne
said I should ride at the Qld Quarter Horse
State Show. My aim was to win a “glittery
rosette” over the course of the week and
we ended up being Runner Up Hi Point
Novice Amateur. That year I won buckles
for Beginner Rider at Southside Western
Performance Club and Novice Amateur at
Burpengary Western Performance Club and
quickly became hooked on buckles!
In mid 2018 the lease ended with Lakota
Pistolita and I ventured back into the envi-
ronmental world to undertake a 12 month
contract at a mine near Chinchilla.
After having met Tania Hobbs through the
Horse n Rider shop and her knowing I had
to put Sparky to sleep a couple of months
ago, she asked me if I would like to lease her
mare, TMD Delightful (Eva), with the view
of us attending the Qld State Show this year.
Although I hadn’t ridden a horse for nearly a
year, I thought it would be fun to compete at
the State Show again. Eva too was recovering
from a broken hock, which required surgery
in November 2017 and we were lucky
enough that she recovered sound and never
looked back once at the show.
As I was still working out at Chinchilla at
the time, I sent the mare to Holly Johnson
for three weeks training prior to the show
to prepare her for the long schedule. Due to
work commitments, I was only able to ride
Eva once prior to the show, but figured it
would be like the old days on the racehorses
– just get on and ride! I was happy to be out
there competing with so many supportive
friends. The show was a great success and
I am proud to say that we placed in every
class, and won Hi Point Novice Amateur.
I am really enjoying the variety of riding
that Western Performance provides, and I
am looking forward to the future, including
perfecting flying changes so that I can ride
in Western Riding classes.
Above - TMD Delightful Q-81829 on
our way to winning High Point Novice
Amateur
Below - Lakota Pistolita Q-66210 and I
after winning the Runner Up - High Point
in 2017
Left - Back in my racing days. Just two
of my many wins
July •
• August
August •
• 2018
2018 •
• The
The Australian
Australian Quarter
Quar